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STOOM

Standing TOgether Opposing Militarism (STOOM) is a broad network of cultural workers, organisations, researchers, and activists who oppose the growing threat of militarisation locally and internationally.

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Why STOOM?

We were formed after the VVD sent a letter of complaint to the local government in Breda, the Netherlands, opposing the destruction of an effigy of Mark Rutte, the current NATO chief, during the closing of the exhibition (un(h)armed at Clublokaal on 14 June 2026.

In the Netherlands, we are constantly bombarded by military propaganda that pushes for military recruitment and a more ‘defense ready’ nation, all the while ignoring our actual crises of housing, the climate and worsening economic precarity. Our sector, alongside others like healthcare and education, continue to face cuts in favour of increased military spending, worsening our already unstable economic conditions as art workers.

Our already meager funding is threatened when we present critical artworks that refuse the growing imperialist militarisation of the Global South by the US and its allies, including NATO and the Netherlands itself.

STOOM is a cultural movement that offers a counter narrative to this normalisation and opposes the use of our work and creativity as a means to fuel the war machine.

We envision a cultural sector that is independent, politically engaged, and ready to serve a liberated world.

What we do

Participate in wider calls to action by anti-imperialist and anti-militarist organisations in the Netherlands and beyond;

Support anti-militarisation campaigns by contributing our skills and resources as cultural workers (e.g. poster designs, effigies, articles, and other cultural artefacts);

Quarterly gatherings for report-backs from campaign related activities, and an opportunity to collectively study the conditions of militarisation in the Netherlands and worldwide.

Objectives

Building and expanding a network of cultural workers that oppose militarisation to strengthen a critical cultural sector and mobilise with them to take action in their own institutions and local contexts to expose complicity in militarisation and imperialist intervention;

Supporting cultural initiatives in gaining knowledge on the current trend in growing militarisation around the world.

Building wide support for anti-militarisation actions within the cultural sector. When we are united, we cannot be defeated!

Join us today!

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You can also find us on Instagram at @_s.t.o.o.m_